We experience Jesus every Sunday. We embody Jesus to everyone.

OUR BELIEFS

Mere Christianity With A Reformed Accent

At Willowdale CRC, we speak “mere Christianity” with a “Reformed accent.” By “mere Christianity,” we mean the historic teachings of the Church that almost all Christians everywhere have confessed at all times. These teachings are summarized in what are called the Ecumenical Creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. In these creeds, we meet the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who created all things and who sent Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. And we especially meet Jesus, truly divine and truly human, who became one of us, died and rose to save us, and promises to come again to make all things right and new.

By a “Reformed accent,” we mean the teachings about faith and salvation that Christians in the Protestant Reformation proclaimed as a way to renew the whole Church. These teachings are summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism and a few other documents called the Reformed Confessions. The key term in these documents is “grace,” which means God’s acts of unmerited love by which he saves sinners and empowers our lives. Our Reformed accent on grace is our way to proclaim what the Apostle Paul and the whole Bible proclaim: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. As people who are saved by grace alone, believe the good news of Jesus Christ is for everyone.

One more document that can help you understand our beliefs is a “contemporary testimony” called “Our World Belongs to God.” In this testimony, we invite all our neighbours from every background to celebrate with us what God is doing to transform our world into a new creation of love, joy, and peace. We invite you to explore this great salvation with us.